#summary Describes the `/reader/api/0/stream/items/ids` method

Given one or more [StreamId]s and fetching options, returns the IDs of the items in those [Stream]s. Getting just item IDs is significantly cheaper than getting [ApiStreamContents stream contents]. If you need to do filtering of items, it is highly encouraged to do this at the ID level before fetching [ApiStreamItemsContents item contents] for the subset of items that remain.

= Path =

`/reader/api/0/stream/items/ids`

= Methods supported =

`GET`

= Authentication =

Optional. Public `Stream`s don't require authentication, but to request private streams or to see user-specific data (e.g. read state), authentication is needed.

= Input =
(see ApiCommonInputs)

|| Parameter || Description || Default value || Example ||
|| `s` || StreamId for which to fetch the item IDs. The parameter may be repeated to fetch the item IDs from multiple streams at once (more efficient from a backend perspective than multiple requests). || _none_, but at least one value is required || `user/-/state/com.google/read` ||
|| `n` || Number of item IDs to return (up to a maximum of 10,000). When fetching multiple streams, this many items will be returned from each stream, unless the `merge` parameter is true. || _none_, but is required  || 1000 ||
|| `xt` || Tag to exclude. Items that have this tag will not be in the response. Commonly used to hide read items (i.e. items with the read tag)  || _none_ || `user/-/state/com.google/read` ||
|| `nt` || Timestamp (in seconds since the epoch) of the newest item that you're interested in  || _none_ || `1309018028` ||
|| `ot` || Timestamp (in seconds since the epoch) of the oldest item that you're interested in || _none_ || `1306426059` ||
|| `r` || Ranking method. Possible values are: `n`: newest-first (reverse chronological), `o`: oldest-first (chronological),  `a`: "magic", `c`: items with most recent commens first || `n` || `o` ||
|| `merge` || If true, the response will be combined into a single set of items before ranking and `n` limit application. || `false` || `true` ||
|| `includeAllDirectStreamIds` || If true, all direct [StreamId]s will be included in the response. If false, feed [StreamId]s will not be included. || `false` || `true` ||

= Response =

A JSON object with a single key, `itemRefs` containing an array of objects. Each object has the following properties:

  * `id`: [ItemId] for the item (signed base 10 version).
  * `timestampUsec`: time in microseconds since the epoch that the item appeared in the direct stream that it was in.
  * ``directStreamIds`: array of [StreamId]s representing the direct streams that this item came from.